Du30 to DOJ: Probe all corrupt acts in gov’t. Inquirer Newsletter. October 28, 2020

No images? Click here   SAFE TO EAT  Tilapia immediately harvested after a fish kill in Lake Buhi, Camarines Sur, is sold for P105 a kilo. Fishery officials say the fish are safe to eat.  —PHOTO COURTESY OF NONIE ENOLVA/BFAR BICOL     News Metro, 6 areas keep GCQ status Metro Manila, the provinces of Batangas and Lanao del Sur, and the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Tacloban and Iligan will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) until Nov. 30, President Duterte said on Tuesday. No region is subject to stricter quarantine levels next month. Metro mayors favor keeping GCQ until year-end, although with eased restrictions on mobility, transport and business. —STORY BY JEROME ANING Read more: http://philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com/philippine-daily-inquirer   News Churches hold more Masses for dead Catholic churches are holding more Masses for the dead in the coming week as cemeteries are closed on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. At the Manila Cathedral, the Blessed Souls Chapel will be open the whole day for offering Mass intentions and votive candles for the dead. Quiapo Church is holding Masses on Nov. 1 and 2, while Baclaran Church is holding daily Masses, except Wednesday and Sunday. —STORY BY JODEE A. AGONCILLO Read more: http://philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com/philippine-daily-inquirer   World US Senate confirms Barrett WASHINGTON—The US Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, eight days before the election. The Republican-controlled Senate confirmed Barrett to the lifetime appointment on a 52-48 vote, with Democrats unified in opposition. Barrett, who succeeds the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, declared her independence from Trump and the political process. —STORY BY REUTERS Read more: http://philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com/philippine-daily-inquirer   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19 and the enhanced community quarantine. Subscribe   Join event     Banner story Du30 to DOJ: Probe all corrupt acts in gov’t By Leila B. Salaverria Saying official corruption had gotten worse, President Duterte announced on Tuesday that he had directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch a sweeping investigation into graft across all government agencies and to put special focus on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which he earlier described as ridden with irregularities. He also ordered Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to prosecute and file charges against people involved in irregularities, whether from the public or private sector. In 2016, Mr. Duterte won the presidency campaigning on a promise to fight corruption, crime and illegal drugs. But his administration has been dogged by scandals and allegations of graft and cover-ups in state agencies ranging from prisons, the state health insurer, immigration, airports and customs, to police and the drug enforcement agency, few of which led to convictions or high-profile resignations. On Tuesday, Mr. Duterte issued a memorandum that expanded the scope of an earlier task force formed to look into allegations of widespread graft at Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and authorized Guevarra to create as many panels for the investigation as necessary and to include other government agencies in these groups. The DOJ will look into graft until the end of Mr. Duterte’s term on June 30, 2022. Guevarra said it was the “toughest” assignment he had received from the President. “I will need the support and cooperation of the entire government machinery to achieve this singular objective of substantially reducing corruption in [the] government,” he said in a message to reporters. In issuing the directive, Mr. Duterte noted that corruption in the country has been thriving. “I have made a pledge ...  that I will concentrate the last remaining years of my term fighting corruption, because up to now, it is not waning, it is becoming stronger. It’s as if officials of the country are becoming inutile and cannot do anything with the onslaught of corruption,” he said in a televised address. The Philippines fell 14 notches to 113th spot among 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index last year. Other branches Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Mr. Duterte, “using his own personal standards,” was not satisfied with efforts to clean up state agencies. The President issued the directive, Roque said, because if the Office of the Ombudsman is mandated to go after official corruption, the DOJ is the biggest public prosecution agency in the country and has more lawyers it can deploy for the investigation. “The more government personnel focused on corruption, the better,” Roque said in a press briefing. The investigation would not just be focused on officials of the executive branch, but would include public officers in the other branches as well, he said. There is no separate agency investigating Congress, Roque said. “It is the power of the executive to implement all laws, regardless of who is involved,” he said. He said there would not be any overlap in the functions of the DOJ and other government agencies because the agencies could be included in the task force. The DOJ directive was also meant to emphasize the President’s desire to focus on tackling corruption and to leave a legacy of clean government, he said. Mr. Duterte believes he can still minimize corruption, even if he cannot completely eradicate it. Resignation won’t save you He noted that he had started with PhilHealth, where officials had been removed or had resigned. But resigning would not absolve officials of any liability, he said. “Let me remind everybody in this government [that] your resignation will not save your neck,” he said. Even if they resign, they could still be summoned or subpoenaed for what they did as part of the government, he said. He would also suspend officials in the coming days, he said. “If I suspend you, it means I have doubts about you. I will not suspend anybody who did not commit wrongdoing,” he said. The President also said he no longer favored abolishing PhilHealth, backtracking from an earlier plan to ask Congress to do away with the state health insurance company. He noted that many PhilHealth officials had already been suspended. “I will not abolish it because it’s not easy really to create another one, but I think by this time many have been suspended,” he said. Charges against Duque But while railing against corruption, Mr. Duterte continued to vouch for Public Works Secretary Mark Villar and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the PhilHealth board chair. He said he had nothing against Villar, whom he called hardworking and accomplished.   Roque said the President would leave it up to the DOJ to decide whether to investigate Villar. As for Duque, the President said he “was not part of PhilHealth” and was not reporting to the agency. Mr. Duterte said he did not heed calls from Congress to suspend or replace Duque, adding that there was no basis for such an action. “What ground would I base my decision? Would I just obey the cry of 1 million as against my assessment that Duque did not steal anything, when we talk about money?  Maybe some other things. He might be some other things but corruption, no, nothing about money,” he said. On Tuesday, the public accounts and blue ribbon committees of the House of Representatives voted to approve an investigation report recommending the filing of administrative and criminal charges against Duque, members of the PhilHealth board, and other officials of the state health insurer for irregularities in the company. Mr. Duterte also warned his critics against linking him to corruption. “Do not invent a sin against me because I have painstakingly avoided being corrupt,” he said. The President directed executive agencies to simplify the process for the distribution of cash assistance to the people so that it would not be delayed. He noted that in some provinces, officials were asked to submit proposals before the money could be distributed. Transparency rules Assistance related to food and health should be given promptly, he said. “Do away with delay, local government permits and the like,” he said. If he receives a report of a delay, he will forward it to the Ombudsman, which can suspend officials, he added. The President also issued an administrative order directing executive agencies to comply with rules and policies to ensure transparency, accountability and good government in their procurement processes. The order requires them to post on their official website and social media platforms the details of their projects, including the budget for these and the winning contractor, as well as the status of the construction and the reason for any delays. They must post the source of the funds for these projects, the responsible official, and his contact number or email address. They must also post the detailed actual cost of the project and any variations from this. All agencies, after they have awarded a contract, should also make public the name of the winning bidder, the approved budget and the amount of the contract awarded, and the implementing office of the concerned agency. The order also requires the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System to be user- and mobile-friendly, up-to-date and compliant with the requirements for maintaining a Transparency Seal. The Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) is tasked with disseminating the names of blacklisted contractors and suppliers to the procuring entities and to the Commission on Audit every quarter. The blacklist should also be posted on the PhilGEPS and GPPB websites and the social media platforms of the procuring entity. —WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND REUTERS   Read more: http://philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com/philippine-daily-inquirer   Editorial While farmers cry for help The drop in the price of palay (unhusked rice) since September has been alarming farmers and the sector in general. The surge in the supply of imported rice, along with the storms lately battering rice lands and impacting harvests, have led to farmers selling their crop to private traders at a farm-gate price of P12-13 a kilo—a disaster considering that for a farmer to recover production costs, the price should be at least P17 a kilo.       On Oct. 7, the Department of Agriculture's William Dar was quoted as saying that imposing safeguard duties on imported rice had yet to be considered. No respite for local farmers on that front then, even as millions of metric tons of the grain are coming in from such countries as Vietnam and Thailand, where government subsidies and technological advancements make rice production cheaper. No benefit to consumers either: Despite the veritable flood, as of Oct. 10, prices of imported rice and even of local regular milled rice have risen by P2 a kilo. Who’s making tons of money under the aegis of the rice tariffication law? If farmers are gripping the knife’s edge, of what use is the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund? Read full story: http://philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com/philippine-daily-inquirer       Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe